Merkel to Hold Another Round of Coalition Talks With SPD Oct. 14

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s
bloc and the Social Democrats agreed to hold more exploratory
talks on Oct. 14 as they seek to establish common ground to form
a governing coalition.

Merkel and senior members of her Christian Democratic
Union, their CSU Bavarian allies and the Social Democrats
declined to tackle the policy areas of greatest contention
during about three hours of talks in Berlin today. The 21
negotiators opted instead to hold more detailed discussion of
matters such as taxes at their next meeting.

“We’ve tried to start exploratory talks not by putting the
focus on our differences,” Alexander Dobrindt, general
secretary of the Bavarian Christian Social Union, told reporters
after the meeting. Andrea Nahles, the SPD general secretary,
said the talks had taken place in an “open-minded atmosphere.”

Tax policy is emerging as a key sticking point to coalition
building after the Sept. 22 election, with SPD members calling
on Merkel’s bloc to drop its opposition to income-tax increases
if it wants to form a so-called grand coalition of the two main
parties. Merkel, who needs a coalition partner to govern, is
keeping her options open with separate exploratory talks
scheduled with the Greens on Oct. 10.

“It makes sense and it’s necessary to hold a second
round” of talks with the SPD, Herman Groehe, the CDU general
secretary, told reporters today. Dobrindt said that all parties
were handling this situation “with great seriousness and a
great sense of responsibility.”

“We have found common and also consensual points on the
substantive matters,” Nahles said. “We have also identified
contentious issues and also identified differences. Therefore
further talks are essential.”